Refrigerator bucket

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator bucket for mounting to a refrigerator door is disclosed. The refrigerator bucket includes a container having an open top face with a finished top edge and tabs extending downwardly from the top edge of the container for connecting the container to the refrigerator door, and a trim piece connected to the container, the trim piece at least partially covering the finished top edge of the container.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/305,714 filed on Jul. 16, 2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to a method and apparatus for a refrigerator bucket. More particularly, this invention relates to a refrigerator bucket having a trim piece.

[0003] Refrigerator buckets, bins, or containers are used in refrigerators to hold or retain refrigerated items. Generally, these refrigerator buckets are mounted to a refrigerator door.

[0004] The style and appearance of the refrigerator buckets is normally customized for each particular refrigerator model. Unfortunately, this customization leads to increased production costs as additional tooling, molds, and materials must be used in order to create the buckets for one style of a refrigerator that are not usable for other styles of refrigerators.

[0005] One known bucket design uses a trim ring affixed to a container using either adhesive or plastic welding to form a single bucket. The container is clear plastic while the trim ring is opaque. However, there are problems with such a design. First, the container has an opening that is unfinished and therefore the container cannot be used alone in the refrigerator without the use of the trim ring. In this design, a trim ring must be attached to the bucket. Such a design uses gas assisted injection molding to form the trim rings, thus adding to the expense of using the design. Finally, because of the geometry used to ultrasonically weld the trim ring to the buckets, the same tooling cannot be used to form the combination of a clear bucket with a trim ring and an opaque bucket without a trim ring.

[0006] Therefore, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for a refrigerator bucket that improves upon the state of the art.

[0007] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for a refrigerator bucket that increases the number of styles for a refrigerator bucket without corresponding increases in the number and costs of molds and tooling.

[0008] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for a refrigerator bucket that provides for flexibility in the aesthetic design of the refrigerator bucket.

[0009] A further object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for a refrigerator bucket that is efficient to manufacture.

[0010] These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the Specification and Claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The present invention provides an improved refrigerator bucket and a method for creating the refrigerator bucket. A refrigerator bucket can be mounted in a refrigerator door. The refrigerator bucket includes a container having an open top portion with a finished top edge, and a trim piece connected to the container at least partially covering the finished top edge of the container. The trim piece is connected to the container using ultrasonic welding. The trim piece of the refrigerator bucket includes a top side and an underside, the underside having an energy director for ultrasonic welding the trim piece to the container.

[0012] The trim piece and the container of the refrigerator bucket are preferably composed of thermoplastics. The present invention contemplates that different styles of trim pieces and/or buckets can be used. For example, the container portion of the refrigerator bucket can be either an opaque plastic of various colors or else a clear plastic. Similarly, the trim piece can be either an opaque plastic of various colors or a clear plastic.

[0013] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a refrigerator bucket. The method includes providing a container having a finished open top face with a finished top edge, providing a trim piece having a finished top side and an unfinished underside for at least partially covering the finished top edge of the container. The unfinished underside of the trim piece has an energy director for welding to the container. Then the underside of the trim piece is welded to the container. According to this aspect of the present invention, the container can be of various styles including being of opaque plastic or of clear plastic. Similarly, the trim piece can be of various styles or colors, including being of an opaque plastic or else a clear plastic.

[0014] Thus, the present invention provides for the advantages of a refrigerator bucket that can be created in such a manner that a container with or without a trim piece can be used in the refrigerator bucket without requiring additional tooling or molding for the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0016]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an assembled refrigerator bucket according to the present invention.

[0017]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a trim piece and a container according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0018]FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the interface between a trim piece and a container according to one embodiment of the refrigerator bucket of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019]FIG. 1 illustrates a refrigerator 10 having a refrigerator door 12. One or more refrigerator buckets or bins 16 are operatively connected to the refrigerator door 12. Each refrigerator bucket 16 can be used for storing food items or other refrigerated items in order to increase the usable storage capacity of the refrigerator 10 or to otherwise provide a convenient manner of storage.

[0020] Although a side-by-side configuration of a refrigerator 10 is shown, refrigerator buckets are present in any number of refrigerator configurations. Also, the number of refrigerator buckets 16 varies. The present invention contemplates that any number of refrigerator buckets 16 can be used in a refrigerator 10.

[0021]FIG. 2 provides a perspective view of the refrigerator bucket 16. The refrigerator bucket 16 includes a trim piece 18 that at least partially covers a container 20. The trim piece 18 can be of various styles, colors and shapes to provide improved or varieties of styles and appearances. Similarly, the container 20 can be of various styles, colors, or shapes to also provide improved appearance or to provide for a variety of appearances. Preferably, both the trim piece 18 and the container 20 are composed of thermoplastics. Either or both of the trim piece 18 and the container 20 can be composed of clear plastic or an opaque plastic. For example, where the container 20 is of an opaque plastic, a trim piece 18 of a clear plastic can be used. Similarly, where the container 20 is of a clear plastic, an opaque trim piece 18 can be used. The present invention contemplates these and other variations in the particular plastic used for the trim piece and the container.

[0022]FIG. 3 provides a perspective view of the trim piece 18 separated from the container 20. The container 20 includes an open top face 22. This allows items to be placed in the container. Along at least a portion of the top face 22 of the container is a finished top edge 24. Because the top edge 24 is finished, the container can be used as a refrigerator bucket without the use of a trim piece. There are also downwardly extending tabs 26 that extend downward from the top edge 24 of the container 20. These tabs are used to secure the refrigerator bucket 16 to a refrigerator door 12. Although tabs 26 are shown, the present invention contemplates that other securing means can be used such as are appropriate for a particular design or application. The finished top edge 24 of the container 20 as well as the tabs 26 allow the refrigerator container 20 to function independently as a refrigerator bucket.

[0023] The trim piece 18 connects to the container to at least partially cover the finished top edge 24 of the container 20. The trim piece 18 includes a top side 28 of the trim 18 and a bottom side or underside 30 of the trim 18.

[0024]FIG. 4 provides a cross sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 that shows the interface between the trim piece 18 and the container 20. The bottom side 30 of the trim piece 18 contains at lease one energy director 32 for use in ultrasonic welding. This is unlike standard practice where the energy director would typically be placed on both surfaces to be welded. Placing the energy director only on the trim piece 18 allows the container 20 to be used as a refrigerator bucket without a trim piece. Because the container 20 does not include an energy director, the top edge 24 of the container 20 can be a finished surface.

[0025] The trim piece 18 is connected to the container 20 through ultrasonic welding. In ultrasonic welding, ultrasonic vibrations are transduced through a weld horn that contacts the surface to be welded. This melts the plastic parts together at the weld point to form a bond. The plastic is then quickly cooled. Ultrasonic welding provides strong weld strength and is time efficient.

[0026] Thus, the present invention discloses a method and apparatus for a refrigerator bucket assembly where different styles of refrigerator buckets can be manufactured. A container 20 of a refrigerator bucket assembly can be used with or without a trim piece 18 as the energy director 24 of the trim piece 18 is located on the bottom side 30 of trim piece 18 and the container 20 has a finished top edge 24. The present invention contemplates variations in the type of material used in the container 20 and trim piece 18, the geometries of the container 20 and the trim piece 18, the styles, the type of plastics used, and the manner of connecting the refrigerator bucket to a refrigerator door. These and other variations are within the spirit and scope of the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A refrigerator bucket for mounting to a refrigerator door, comprising: a container having an open top face with a finished top edge and tabs extending downwardly from the top edge of the container for connecting the container to the refrigerator door; and a trim piece operatively connected to the container for at least partially covering the finished top edge of the container.
 2. The refrigerator bucket of claim 1 wherein the trim piece is connected to the container using ultrasonic welding.
 3. The refrigerator bucket of claim 1 wherein the trim piece includes a top side and an underside, the underside having an energy director for ultrasonic welding to the container.
 4. The refrigerator bucket of claim 1 wherein the container is composed of a clear thermoplastic.
 5. The refrigerator bucket of claim 1 wherein the trim piece is composed of an opaque thermoplastic.
 6. A method for manufacturing a refrigerator bucket, comprising: providing a container having a finished open top face with a finished top edge; providing a trim piece having a finished top side and an unfinished underside for at least partially covering the finished top edge of the container, the unfinished underside having an energy director for welding to the container; and welding the underside of the trim piece to the container.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the container is composed of clear thermoplastic.
 8. The method of claim 6 wherein the container is composed of an opaque thermoplastic.
 9. The method of claim 6 wherein the container includes tabs downwardly extending from the finished top edge for connecting the container to a refrigerator door.
 10. A refrigerator bucket for mounting to a refrigerator door, comprising: a container having an open top face with a finished top edge; a trim piece having a top side and an underside, the underside having an energy director; and the trim piece ultrasonically welded to the container such that the trim piece at least partially covers the finished top edge of the container.
 11. The refrigerator bucket of claim 10 wherein the container includes tabs extending downwardly from the finished top edge for connecting the container to the refrigerator door.
 12. The refrigerator bucket of claim 10 wherein the container is composed of a clear thermoplastic.
 13. The refrigerator bucket of claim 10 wherein the trim piece is composed of an opaque thermoplastic. 